(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European stock markets are expected to be in negative territory on a morning that is expected to be hectic on the macroeconomic front with the release of manufacturing PMI data from major Eurozone economies.

Thus, IG futures give the FTSE Mib in the red by 0.2 percent or down 47.5 points after closing down 0.3 percent at 28,831.52.

Paris' CAC 40 is expected down 23.3 points or down 0.3 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is given down 0.2 percent or down 29.0 points, London's FTSE 100 is expected down 0.3 points or in fractional red.

Among other listings in Milan on Thursday, the Mid-Cap finished up 0.5 percent to 42,430.92, the Small-Cap gained 0.2 percent to 27,359.27, and Italy Growth fell 0.4 percent to 8,883.52.

In macroeconomic news, China's manufacturing PMI index released Friday rose to 51.0 in August from 49.2 in July, beating market estimates of 49.3.

It was the strongest pace of expansion in industrial activity since February, also marking the fifth increase since the beginning of the year amid Beijing's multiple efforts to revive the weak post-pandemic recovery.

From Japan, the Au Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI index released Friday was revised slightly downward to 49.6 in August from a flash reading of 49.7.

The latest result is identical to the final July figure and indicates the third consecutive month of decline in industrial activity.

Production contracted moderately, unchanged from July, new orders fell at a smaller pace, and foreign demand suffered the smallest decline in 13 months.

On the blue chip list CNH Industrial closed among the best, up 2.2 percent, trending upward for the fifth consecutive session.

Best of all, however, was Iveco, up 3.7 percent, while Saipem closed down 4.6 percent after announcing Thursday morning that it had successfully completed the placement of EUR500 million of senior unsecured guaranteed equity-linked bonds maturing in 2029.

The net proceeds of the placement will be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing a portion of existing debt, a company note said. The bonds will have a coupon with a fixed annual rate of 2.875 percent, payable on a semi-annual basis in arrears. The conversion price is EUR2.0487 and incorporates a 37.5 percent conversion premium applied to the placement price of the so-called Delta Placement shares in the Concurrent Delta Placement.

Intesa Sanpaolo gave up 1.2 percent. On Thursday, it announced a cash tender offer to repurchase all or part of its perpetual bond "EUR750,000,000 Additional Tier 1 Notes" with a total outstanding nominal amount of EUR750 million and the launch of a new issue of a fixed-rate reset Additional Tier 1 perpetual bond with a nominal amount of not less than EUR750 million.

On the Mid-Cap, Webuild closed the session on top, up 9.5 percent, in its fifth straight session among the bullish.

The stock rose after Snowy Hydro, the developer of the Snowy 2.0 project in Australia-the largest Australian hydropower project, 100% owned by Webuild after its acquisition of Clough-announced Thursday morning that it was revising the contract.

According to Equita analysts, this is "clearly positive news" for Webuild: "With the revision of the award value of the work (the final value recognized to Webuild has yet to be announced but we believe it to be a large part of the AUD12 billion indicated) and especially the revision of the contract model from fixed cost to incentivized target cost, the perceived risk on one of the largest and most complex contracts in Webuild's order book is lessened," reads a research note.

In fact, as reported by Reuters, the expansion of Australia's largest hydropower project will now cost AUD12 billion -- or USD7.77 billion --, nearly doubling the price of the renewable energy project, plagued by delays, at a time when Australia urgently needs to replace mothballed coal-fired power plants.

Iren rose 1.4 percent. The board Wednesday co-opted Paolo Emilio Signorini and appointed him as its new chief executive officer and general manager, following Gianni Vittorio Armani's June 12 resignation.

The appointment follows the formal indication made by the union committee of Iren's public shareholders composed of Marco Bucci, mayor of Genoa; Stefano Lo Russo, mayor of Turin; and Luca Vecchi, mayor of Reggio Emilia.

On the bottom, Saras dropped 4.2 percent, despite Marshall Wace cutting its short position on the stock to 1.61 percent from 1.82 percent.

On the Small-Cap, Fidia rose 0.8%, rearing its head again after two bearish sessions.

Good buying also on Beewize, which closed up 9.0%, bringing the price to EUR0.6460.

FNM - down 0.7 percent - and CDP Venture Capital Sgr - as announced Thursday by the former - have signed an agreement for the development of innovative startups and SMEs through the entry of the integrated group for sustainable mobility in Lombardy into the Corporate Partners I Fund, the multi-compartment fund that involves the main industrial and financial players in order to stimulate the growth of the innovation ecosystem in Italy in the strategic sectors of energy, manufacturing, services and infrastructure.

Specifically, with an investment of EUR10 million, FNM Group enters the InfraTech sub-fund of CDP Venture Capital Sgr's Corporate Partners I Fund, which specializes in the search for technological solutions applicable to infrastructure such as infrastructure design and planning and the monitoring, management and control of construction sites and infrastructure thanks to innovative solutions and technologies based on applications of artificial intelligence and internet of things, robotics and new materials.

Aquafil gave up 2.8 percent shortly after announcing that the first half of the year ended with a loss of EUR4.1 million from a profit of EUR17.7 million recorded in the same period of the previous year and a decline of 123 percent.

As of June 30, revenues stood at EUR311.1 million, down 11 percent from EUR351.0 million in 2022. Ebitda was worth EUR31.3 million from EUR51.5 million and down 39%. Ebit was EUR4.1 million from a negative EUR3.9 million as of June 30, 2022.

Among SMEs, Maps--down 4.5 percent--reported on Wednesday that it had entered into a supplementary agreement for the early acquisition from minority shareholder MMW Srl of the remaining 30 percent stake in Informatica e Telecomunicazioni Srl and the simultaneous closing of the entire transaction. The early closing thus provides for a total amount of EUR2.1 million.

In Asia, the Nikkei gives up 0.3% to 32,710.62, the Hang Seng does not trade due to holidays, while the Shanghai Composite gains 0.3% to 3,128.78.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.5 percent to 34,721.91, the S&P finished down 0.2 percent to 4,507.66, while the Nasdaq picked up 0.1 percent to 14,034.97.

Among currencies, the euro changed hands at USD1.0834 versus USD1.0848 on Thursday in closing European equities while the pound was worth USD1.2668 from USD1.2659 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is worth USD87.11 per barrel versus USD86.76 per barrel at Thursday's close. Gold, meanwhile, trades at USD1,966.30 an ounce from USD1,942.84 an ounce on Thursday evening.

Friday's economic calendar features PMIs from major Eurozone economies between 0915 CEST and 1000 CEST. The one from the United Kingdom will come at 1030 CEST.

Coming up are the US employment data, with the private sector payrolls data arriving at 1430 CEST among the most anticipated of the day.

Among the companies in the Piazza Affari, no particular events are expected.

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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